Search form

Deck the Halls With Internet Freedom

Together we stopped SOPA and PIPA, bills that would have dismantled the open Internet in the name of copyright enforcement. We forced AT&T to relent when we caught it violating Net Neutrality and harming consumers by blocking the FaceTime video-calling app. We stopped the march toward privacy-killing cybersecurity legislation.

And we put forward a vision of Internet freedom for all: The Declaration of Internet Freedom was translated into more than 70 languages and signed by thousands of organizations, multiple members of Congress and even the president of Costa Rica.

Meanwhile, the International Telecommunication Union's meeting in Dubai this month reminded us that we can never take the open Internet for granted and must fight for it at every turn. Make no mistake: In 2013, we’ll have to work even harder to keep the Internet free and open.

Here’s the short list of what we’ll face in the New Year:

A federal court will decide the future of Net Neutrality.

Local legislators will try to stop communities from building their own broadband networks.

The SOPA/PIPA forces will be back with new Web-censorship bills.

Corporations and government will push cybersecurity policies that violate our privacy and harm the Internet.

And those are just the threats we can predict.

More than ever before, the public needs to be at the decision-making table every time the Internet is under threat. And despite the need to play defense, we must also continue to push forward a proactive vision of the future of the Internet — one in which everyone, everywhere has access to an affordable, fast and open Internet.

Freepress.net is a project of Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund. Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund do not support or oppose any candidate for public office. We are nonpartisan organizations fighting to save the free and open Internet, curb runaway media consolidation, protect press freedom, and ensure diverse voices are represented in our media.